The invention relates to a method of providing an electrical component with surface-mountable metallic terminals, the component comprising two substantially parallel faces, S.sub.1 and S.sub.2, with which electrical contact can be made, the perpendicular separation of these faces having a value t.
The invention also relates to an electrical component comprising two substantially parallel faces, S.sub.1 and S.sub.2, to each of which a surface-mountable electrical terminal is affixed. In particular, the invention relates to the case where such a component is a ceramic resistor having a positive Temperature Coefficient of Resistivity (so-called PTC resistor).
The invention further relates to a lead-frame suitable for use in the inventive method.
In a known method as stated in the opening paragraph, an edge of the electrical component is glued to the surface of a printed circuit board (PCB) in such a manner that the faces S.sub.1, S.sub.2 extend substantially perpendicular to the plane of the PCB. A blob of solder is then deposited on each of the faces S.sub.1, S.sub.2 at its juncture with the PCB, so as to connect each face to an adjacent metal land on the PCB; in this manner, the solder blobs act as bridges between the (vertical) faces S.sub.1, S.sub.2 and the corresponding (horizontal) lands, and effectively form the component's metallic terminals.
A disadvantage of this known method is that, in the case of an electrical component which can become warm (e.g. a PTC resistor), gluing the component to the PCB surface results in intimate thermal contact with the PCB, which is undesirable. Moreover, the immediate area of the PCB onto which the component is glued must be kept free of conductive tracks and lands, so that subsequent placement of the component thereupon will not entail an attendant risk of short-circuiting.